Fuel cells are projected to be one of the energy sources for portable electronic devices, including handheld portable electronic devices, i.e., devices sized and shaped to be held or carried in a human hand. Examples of portable electronic devices include, but are not limited to, mobile communication devices (such as cellular phones or smart phones), music players, remote controls, electronic navigation devices (such as Global Positioning System devices), portable DVD players, portable digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers (such as tablet computers or laptop computers) or some charging accessories. Fuel cells tend to provide higher energy densities than conventional batteries and may maintain operation with a continuous flow of fuel.
The use of fuel cells with portable electronic devices has not yet been widely implemented for a variety of reasons. One concern pertaining to fuel cells is that they are limited in their efficiency depending on the environment in which the fuel cell is being operated. More specifically, the relative humidity and the temperature surrounding the fuel cell may tend to affect the efficiency of the fuel cell. Fuel cells tend to exhibit a significant drop in performance when operating in an environment where there is a high humidity, generate less power when operating in a low temperature environment or take a long time to reach peak power when operating in a low temperature environment.